StrikeForce News - Page 75

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“Now that I’m here, understand this – it comes from the heart. I’ll fight anybody, anywhere. When Scott (Coker) says it’s time to get down and dirty, understand this: I’m not coming to lose, and I’m not coming to back up.”
Though according to Ariel Helwani over at MMA Fanhouse, “back up” is exactly what he did when Strikeforce officials presented him with the chance to fill in for a paternal Renato Sobral at the upcoming “Lawler vs. Shields” event at Missouri’s Scottrade Center.

Frankly, I am absolutely unmotivated by money. And I know that maybe people take that and don’t understand what that means, but I am just not. What I am interested in is people that have respect. Not only respect for me, but people who have respect for women in MMA … I have sat down with Dana and (Zuffa co-owner) Lorenzo (Fertitta) and they have expressed interest and want to do something, but I am a little weary because I know that Strikeforce is signing women and the “Cyborg” fight is over there … I think that I would probably pick Zuffa (over Strikeforce) because that’s the big show, you know? To be a part of that would be amazing, but you know, here comes Strikeforce and they’ve got this CBS and Showtime deal and they are working their way up into being good competition … They’ve built their company on some good roots and now they are ready to branch out on Showtime and CBS. But as of right now, the UFC is the big show, and for a female, it would be an amazing opportunity.

The light heavyweight title fight scheduled for the Strikeforce card on June 6 has been postponed as the champion, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, has been forced out of the bout with the due date of his child being born falling too close to the fight. His opponent, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante will remain on the card against an as of yet unnamed opponent.

PDG: Megumi Fujii stated that: “After the ref stopped the fight, Cyborg didn't come over to check on Akano.” Was that more disrespectful or the fact that she showed up to weigh-ins 7 pounds over more disrespectful?
Akano: From the moment she missed the weight, I expected NOTHING from Cyborg.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com has received a report that another AKA trainer has stepped up to assist with the matchmaking duties at Strikeforce.
Crazy Bob Cook has just confirmed via telephone to FiveOuncesOfPain.com that he has been enlisted as a match-up consultant for the organization.
FiveOuncesOfPain.com recently first reported the news that American Kickboxing Academy trainer Javier Mendez had decided to step down from his position as the matchmaker for Strikeforce.

A week after he thumbed his nose at the California State Athletic Commission's drug testing policies, MMAInsider has learned the outcome of Nick Diaz's post-Strikeforce test for drugs of abuse.
According to Bill Douglas, CSAC's Assistant Executive Officer, they are negative.

If you know how, please tell Josh Barnett. The top-ranked MMA Heavyweight, who is also the cornerman of Japanese female fighter Hitomi Akano, feels the victory by Cristiane Santos over Akano at SF's 4/11 event was "hollow" and that Santos deserves "no respect" and no praise.

But this time it's not Anderson Silva or anyone from UFC. According to GracieFighter.com, Jones is being called out for a boxing match by Strikeforce's Nick Diaz. Such a fight is more likely to happen than a Silva-Jones fight because SF is more flexible about letting their guys fight elsewhere and because of their alliance with Showtime-a network that regularly shows boxing. UFC of course has neither.

Strikeforce may be about to put out the "Now Hiring" sign for the job of matchmaker. Previous matchmaker Javier Mendez has quit the promotion effective immediately, citing no longer being able to be both a matchmaker and a trainer at Arizona Kickboxing Academy (AKA). No immediate word yet on plans for finding a replacement.

UFC, PRIDE and Strikeforce veteran – and co-host of MMAjunkie.com Radio – Frank Trigg (19-6) is currently on a four-fight win streak, yet he doesn't know where or when his next bout will take place.
But on Wednesday's edition of MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio), Trigg identified one opponent he believes would be easy prey: Strikeforce middleweight Frank Shamrock (23-10-2).
"They can have me fight him any time they want up there," Trigg said. "Put it back at 180 (pounds) again, and I'll put him into retirement. It's not that difficult. Frank Shamrock's only got like two or three fights left in his life."
Trigg fought once for the California-based organization, defeating Falaniko Vitale in October 2008. The 36-year-old said he would love the opportunity to return to the organization in a chance to prove just how far Shamrock has fallen in recent defeats to Nick Diaz and Cung Le.
"How much [expletive] can you talk to Frank Shamrock?" Trigg asked. "He's not that good. The sport has passed him by.
"Do you really want to be seen training on Lamaze balls? Is that really what you want to do? That's what he does. Half of his techniques are done on Lamaze balls. I'm like, 'OK. That's really interesting. That's great. Who's teaching you your takedown defense?'"
Trigg questioned Shamrock's commitment to preparation for his April 11 main event with Diaz at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
"You live in [expletive] San Jose," Trigg said. "There's like 75 great wrestlers that live right down the street from you. You don't train with any of them? That doesn't make any sense to me.
"You're a great striker, you're incredibly athletic, you have a great ability to talk before the fights, you've got a great ability to sell the fight. But then you're striking hasn't changed. Your ability, your flexibility, your ability to hit your punches hasn't changed. You haven't learned – knowing full well against a guy who's going to do takedowns – how to stop a takedown and how to keep it on your feet where you would have had a shot to win.
"But then, you're on your feet and you got out-punched by a jiu-jitsu guy. It doesn't make any sense."
While Trigg's career has been filled with bouts against the world's top competitors, he last fought in a unanimous-decision win against an unheralded Danny Babcock. While the win certainly wasn't a career-builder, Trigg insists Shamrock's current 1-3 streak proves he's no longer relevant.
"The sport's just passed [Shamrock] by," Trigg said. "It's the same thing I said to Ken (Shamrock). It's the same thing I said to Mark Coleman. It's the same thing I said to Tito Ortiz: The sport has passed you by.
"You haven't adjusted. You haven't learned. You haven't spent the time being in the academy every day trying to learn. You're out there [expletive] around doing other stuff when you're not training. It's not smart anymore for this sport...

The main card of this past Saturday's "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz" took a major hit when lightweight champ Josh Thomson was a late scratch.
Gilbert Melendez (15-2) saved the show with a stunning knockout of Thomson's replacement, Rodrigo Damm, earning the organization's interim lightweight title in the process.
But like so many interim title holders before him, Melendez, recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) there's still work to be done before he'll truly feel like a title holder.
I think its great Gilbert feels the way he does and doesn't want to just sit around and wait for Josh to get healed up...he has the attitude of a champion

Overall the recent show appears to have done the third highest MMA rating in Showtime history. The number isn't some kind of stunning success, but it is very good. They didn't have a pre-fight special, but still drew a nice audience.

Frank Shamrock’s pride took a hit at Strikeforce “Shamrock vs. Diaz” on Saturday at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., but his bank account emerged in far better shape.
The 36-year-old icon banked an event-high $369,790 after his one-sided second-round stoppage defeat to Nick Diaz, according to figures released on Tuesday by the California State Athletic Commission. Shamrock earned almost 10 times as much as his adversary, who pocketed $39,950, including a $10,000 win bonus.

Tito Ortiz (pictured) and Renato ‘Babalu’ Sobral reportedly had to be restrained from attacking each other at last night’s Strikeforce event in California.
Babalu’s name was announced to the crowd at one point, prompting the Brazilian to turn to Ortiz and make an obscene gesture.
Moments later security staff had to move in and separate the pair before the altercation could turn physical, according to MMA News.com

Fabricio Werdum says he has signed a three-fight deal with Strikeforce and wants the organisation’s heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem as his first opponent.
“I want to fight Alistair and I am hoping that the fight can be made in June,” he said in a video interview with Sherdog.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- At just 25 years old, Nick Diaz has been a pro for seven years. He has battled bigger opponents regularly and won fans even in defeat. But there was no question who the better fighter was Saturday, with Frank Shamrock getting a potent dose of Diaz at his best in the main event of Strikeforce’s Showtime-televised card at the HP Pavilion.
Diaz outlanded Shamrock 129 to 42, cleverly working his range while peppering his foe with a mix of stiff punches and the occasional kick mixed in.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Following Saturday night's "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz" event at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., the organization began to create buzz for future events by tossing around a few potential bouts.
One potential matchup discussed at the evening's post-event press conference that created immediate buzz was the return of Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem (29-11) against UFC and PRIDE veteran Fabricio Werdum (11-4-1).
While Werdum wasn't announced as an official signing, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker suggested the bout was a strong possibility.
Overeem has fought twice for Strikeforce, defeating Vitor Belfort in 2006 as well as earning the organization's first heavyweight title by beating Paul Buentello in November 2007. The Dutch striker has yet to defend the title but has suggested in recent interviews he's intending to do so in June.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The new-look Strikeforce drew what was deemed by arena officials as a "near sell-out" crowd to Saturday night's "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz" event.
Headlined by Northern California fighters Nick Diaz and Frank Shamrock, Strikeforce drew 15,211 spectators to the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
While official numbers from the California State Athletic Commission have not yet been certified, Strikeforce executives told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the collected gate was approximately $750,000.
Before Saturday night's event, Strikeforce's most recent show was held in November 2008, also at the HP Pavilion. Headlined by a light-heavyweight championship bout between then-title-holder Bobby Southworth and current champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral, "Strikeforce: Destruction" was attended by just 8,152 spectators for a certified gate of $321,520.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - While light-heavyweight free agent Tito Ortiz garnered the most attention outside the cage at Saturday night's "Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz," it was another UFC veteran that left the event a Strikeforce employee.
Twelve-plus-year-veteran Kevin Randleman (17-12) was announced as the latest signing for Strikeforce at the post-event press conference at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
"Thank you very much for the opportunity to come back and show everybody that I'm not done yet," Randleman said. "Far from it."
Specifics of the contract were not announced, but Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said he hopes to have Randleman fight right away.
"We have an announcement soon, so you'll have to wait until next week," Coker said. "But we're going to try and put him in the rotation right away. There's going to be some great fights in the future for Kevin, and we're excited."